We invite you to learn more about our Certified Instructors, who they are, why they began to study Qigong and Tai Chi, and more importantly, why they still practice. You can also learn about our Nam Hoa Master, Jim-Scott Behrends.
Phillip Szpiech
Phillip has had experience in several government and civilian industries. Including a 26 year Navy career; the owner of a regional training consulting firm based in Memphis, TN; a Division Vice President with the world's largest owner and operator of nursing homes and a partner in a real estate company with 40+ offices and 1500 agents. Phillip is a long-time student of Chinese language, history and culture. During his Naval career he lived in various Far Eastern countries, including Taiwan for several years. He began studying TaiChi/ChiGong for the health and longevity benefits and became interested in medical ChiGong and martial arts in general. In 1999 he began training with Bending Tree Tai Chi Kung in Virginia Beach,VA. He is certified as an instructor in several Bending Tree Tai Chi forms. Phil has also developed curriculum and teaches in Bending Tree's two year instructor training school. In the past 3 years he has been certified to teach in the Tai Chi for Arthritis,Tai Chi for Diabetes, and Tai Chi for Back Pain Programs and has become a student of a "Healing Touch" health and wellness program. Phil says, "It seems that the older I get the better my balance and flexibility. I continue to learn and want to share these benefits with like minded people."
In his "spare time" Phil continues to reestablish his Chinese language skills along with his newest musical interest in the bamboo flute.
Nik Levinsky
Nik Levinsky has a strong background in the martial arts and is a Senior Student with Bending Tree. He is certified in the Nam Hoa system forms Longevity Tree, Yang, and Tiger.
"I have always felt a love of movement; surfing, dancing to music and becoming a Dad have all inspired flow in my life. My interest in the martial arts led me to study Tai Chi and Qigong. In the practice, I have found an equal love of Peace and Stillness. This concept of mindfully connecting to the busy energy of the daily hustle has helped bring balance to my life and my family."
Debbie Calvert
Debbie has been studying Qigong and Tai Chi for over five years. She is the Administrative Coordinator for Bending Tree Tai Chi and sits on the Core Team advisory Board. Here is Debbie's story of how she came to Tai Chi.
"All my life I have been overweight. I have tried just about every diet and weight loss clinic out there and some brought results but they never lasted. It wasn't until I was on an oxygen tank all the time that the hospital allowed me to have the Gastric By-pass surgery. A year later I had lost 100 lbs but was still unable to do many exercises, so I went in search of an exercise I could do."
I made the rounds and tried aerobics and weight lifting but neither worked for me. I was walking some but found it difficult to keep to a weekly schedule and felt that I needed something more. My friend suggested that I try Tai Chi and there began my journey into the benefits of Qigong/Tai Chi. I began my study with Judith Forsyth and fell in love with the practice."
"Practicing Qigong Tai Chi has changed my life. My balance and muscle tone have improved and my breathing problems have gotten a lot better. I find movement so much easier now, and I seem to be enjoying my life so much more!"
"I have studied the past years to become a Certified Instructor under Bending Tree because I wanted to bring this helpful exercise to others who are over weight and may or may not have health problems. The benefits that Qigong/Tai Chi has to offer are beyond compare and it is so gentle that almost anyone can do it. Come try Tai Chi 'In My Size' and see for yourself what benefits you can receive from Qigong/Tai Chi. If I can do it, so can you!"
The Osborns
We are the Osborns, Bonnie and William. We do have distinct interests. We also share a common one: Tai Chi /Qigong. How we arrived at this shared interest is personal and for each of us, unique.
I, Bonnie, had a skiing accident which left me with disabilities and chronic back and leg pain. The doctor who completed my treatment and who told me to live with the pain, set my future course. I studied alternative therapies which include: teaching Hatha Yoga classes, relaxation programs for TMJ patients, and now, Tai Chi /Qigong. Additionally, I am a Certified Massage Therapist. I enjoy the study and practice of the Health and Wellness Longevity Tree form and I look forward to sharing the form and its benefits with others.
I, William, have explored alternative health care for many years. A doctor spurred that interest having diagnosed me with arthritis in the spine and a prognosis that would alter my livelihood as a toolmaker. I explored meditation, body movement, and the power of positive thinking. I continue to work today and enjoy sharing the wonderful healing gift of Tai Chi/ Qigong with others.
I have been meditating since 1974 and have taken classes in St.Louis MO, Va. Beach VA., and CA. My wife and I have been members of a certified meditation center for Satchidananda Ashram since 1989 and have hosted meditation gatherings since 1982. I have led meditation workshops for NADEP, NORVA, and have received referrals from the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads to teach meditation to some of their members. Meditation has been a daily routine in my life and I look forward to sharing it with you.
My wife and I enjoy doing many things together. Tai Chi Qigong is one such activity. We took our Instructor Training together, and we are now certified to instruct both the Health and Wellness program. I have led the meditation portion of the High Inner Chi Workshops for Bending Tree. We have both studied the more advanced Nam Hoa Yang form and we look forward to learning even more. I echo her sentiments when I say, I look forward to sharing this experience with you.
Jim Paschal
Jim Paschal is an Associate Instructor and Core Team member with Bending Tree Tai Chi Kung, and he is the primary instructor of the Qi-Development class. He has practiced and taught Chinese martial arts for over 40 years, and he has taught Taiji Quan theory and practice for the past 15 years. He also studies Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement (ATM), a system like Taiji that emphasizes soft, uninhibited, mind-directed movement. His academic and professional background includes biology, hydrology, engineering, and systems analysis and design; he has strong interests in human anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics.
"As one Taiji master stated: 'Taiji is the dance of life.' This has been a guiding principle to me as I have studied and taught Taiji. Since I was a small boy, I have been fascinated with the beauty and grace of animals -'the dance.' That led me to my profession, my love for living creatures, awe of their structure and function, to the Chinese martial arts, and eventually to 'the way' of Taiji Quan and Qi Gong. When my physical condition prevented me from practicing the hard contact of 'killer karate,' I started developing the internal strength of Taiji - a soft strength that is more powerful than any hard-contact martial art that I have done. For many years I did not believe in Qi, but when Master Liang Shu Yu taught me to feel and direct Qi, I realized its great potential and wonder. I worked with disabled people and others to help them increase their mobility and strength and to alleviate their pain."
"The principle that now leads my Qi development and teaching was written by Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism (600 BC): 'Softness and suppleness are strength, hardness and rigidity are weakness.' My passion is to help integrate the beautiful art forms of our bodies with the Universal Spirit of Qi. Teaching is a joyful privilege for me from which I learn so much and develop wonderful friendships. I, like Judith, believe that God made me a teacher, and that I too am a tour guide to our Qi. As dancers of life, we are all artists, stepping along 'the way.' As partners in the dance, we embrace, follow and lead, move and run o'er - unite with the sea of all life."
Pat Sullivan
For the last eight years, I have practiced Tai Chi/Qigong to maintain and improve my health. Soon after beginning to learn the gentle and slow movements of the forms, I noticed an improvement in my balance, flexibility, and lung capacity. Later I realized that the meditative qualities of the forms allowed me to relax both my mind and my body, releasing tensions on demand. As I continued to learn, the changes have just continued from better mental focus to a heightened sense of my body's strengths, to a sense of the spiritual interdependence we share with each other and our environment. And, I am quite sure more discoveries will be made as I continue this practice for the rest of my life.
As with any life-enhancing gift that we discover, I realized that I must share these forms with others. In the class each of us experiences the delight of these movements in our own way, according to our individual physical condition. Yet we do this together, following a path toward wellness, energized by the combination of breath, movements, and community. I look forward to walking on the path with you. See you in class.
Barb Francisco
The expression "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" is true for me. Prior to finding tai chi, I tried a few other paths, none felt completely right. Then one day a friend called wanting me to come to a class to help out a friend of hers. The rest is as they say history. I found the right place for me, the right Teacher, and became a "tai chi junkie." Later I received an invitation to join the instructor-training program and I humbly accepted
A friend recently asked me "How long have you been on this path?" My reply was "You know in some respects I feel like all my life experiences have led met to this place in time. On the other hand it seems like just yesterday I discovered of the joy that is tai chi traveling along on my path." It is the way... the discovery... the journey that is important. It is this joy, the laughter, the discovery, the journey I look forward to sharing with each person that may share a class with me.
Julie Cobb
I came to the free introduction class hoping to find an exercise program and something to help me SLOW DOWN! I needed to de-stress! Nothing was working for me; I even gave up caffeine.
I am a type A person who isn't happy unless I am doing something and the more the better. Everyone else comes first. My own wellness was not the priority. Not even after loosing a kidney to cancer. I enjoyed my class so much; it became ME time, something that I had never had before. I loved it so much I didn't miss a class.
I found the more I practiced the more Tai Chi helped me quiet my mind, to listen to my body. I am following my path to wellness and I hope to work with you to find your own path. Thich Nhat Hanh states in his book Being Peace "A human being is like a television set with millions of channels. If we turn sorrow on, we are sorrow. If we turn a smile on, we really are the smile. We cannot let just one channel dominate us." I am working to become Peace, to breath and to smile. Let's have fun with Tai Chi.
Marlowe D'Oriano
I grew up in Virginia Beach and graduated in 1991 from Georgetown University. I then moved to the south of France, which is where I discovered the Qigong practice through a teacher affiliated with a Chinese Master in Paris. I moved back to the United States and eventually found Bending Tree, which enabled me to begin my practice anew with the Nam Hoa system. For me, tai chi and Qigong are part of a set of practices which include visual arts, reading, exercise, and meditation, through which I seek to explore the world around me and my relationship to it. I believe the Qigong practice is essential for optimal mental and physical health, as well as over all peace and well-being, and I chose to become an instructor of Qigong to share those benefits with others. I currently live at the North End of Virginia Beach with my spouse and two sons. In addition to my involvement with Bending Tree, I work from home as an artist and teach part-time for the Student Art Start program at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.
Pam Paster
I have always been an early morning leisure walker, relishing the daybreak hour, soaking in the flora and the fauna of rabbits, squirrels, birds, insects, and the predictable wandering cats in my neighborhood. Several years ago, I began looking for a supplement to my walking. I wanted to exercise more my joints, muscles, and lungs, deciding that I did not want to progress through the natural and inevitable aging process with moving and breathing difficulties like many others I had observed, including my own mother. I was not looking specifically for tai chi or Qigong but rather stumbled upon it. Or did I? I saw the BT website. Curious, I called the number. I tried a class, liked the class, joined the class, and completed the class. I became a tai chi junkie, volunteered in a class, tried and completed another class. I was privileged to be invited to participate in an instructor training program and became a certified Bending Tree instructor.
I recall the Chinese proverb: "If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come." My spirit was open to receive this practice, and the "bird" continues to sing. Common words have taken on new meaning: "emptiness, stillness, yielding, rooting, allowing, releasing, breathing, centering, intent, mindfulness, following, leading..." Sharing is one of my desires now. Sharing new meanings of old words. Sharing this practice that has had such an impact on my life.
I began Qigong/tai chi thinking only of the physical, not realizing the inner/internal journey that would accompany. It feels right. I'm moving well, increasing my balance, and using breathing and mediation techniques to reduce stress and anxiety. It is a total practice on my path of continued wellness.
As an educator of over 20 years in early childhood special education, I look forward to branching out in my instruction and sharing Qigong/tai chi with you.
Ruth Snider
From earliest years, I well recall the joy of being at the kitchen table with my parents and siblings, learning. In distinct ways, they led us quite naturally to wonder at the universe and celebrate discovery as only children can. My path was set. Education held a natural allure and I have always reveled in being a learner amongst learners. While I spent many years in a classroom setting, I broadened my life views with experiences in different fields, in different climes, and in different places. More recently, the opportunity to honor my parents in their senior years, and to learn anew, brought me to Virginia.
Here, I had the unique opportunity to work in the healthcare field, to gain fresh insights into aging and care, and to develop the skills so necessary to a caregiver. Life comes full circle for me. At some point, so did teaching: I had to learn self-care when overcome by the hot summer suns to which I was unaccustomed. Illness was a great teacher but the desire for health brought me to Bending Tree.
When I most needed "rescue" , a small announcement in the Botanical Garden brochure read: Wellness in the Garden. Instinct said, "This is the answer I need." From the first class, I recognized an outstanding Teacher, a holistic lesson, and positive energy and support. I was not disappointed.
Now, as one of the instructors, I am honored to be numbered amongst them. It is, in a sense, a continued journey, being an instructor: a learner amongst learners, to be sure.
Tom Wolf
"What brought me to Tai Chi? A part of me would say that I've always been on this path. My wife and I both had an interest in learning Tai Chi for many years. A few years ago after arthroscopic surgery to repair a lot of cartilage damage in my knee, and after six weeks of crutches with no weight bearing on the knee, we searched the Internet and found Bending Tree to help in my recovery program. What we found was something more than a health recovery program. We found a wellness program, and a wonderful group of friends."
"What keeps me practicing Tai Chi and Qigong is 'Discovery.' Discovering deeper and deeper levels of awareness to control and quiet my mind, body, breathing, and heart rate. Discovering new ways to move, and not move, to think, and not think. Allowing myself to be in the present moment, to truly enjoy the possibilities of each new moment and explore my connection to everything."
"We are all teachers, just as we are all students. I would like to share with you what this practice has given me, and how it has changed my life, in such a short time. Let's walk the path together for awhile, each of us a student and a teacher, so that we can share our experiences and learn from each other."
Tom is certified in the Nam Hoa system forms Longevity Tree, Nam Hoa Yang, Tiger, and Dragon, and in the Sun Style Tai Chi for Arthritis form (Tai Chi for Health).